


To Whom a Hyacinth is Dearer than I shall Ever be Dear

by AwkwardFortuna



Series: The Life and Times of Gavin Reed [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Crime Scenes, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Gavin Reed-centric, Gen, Hanahaki Disease, How Gavin got his scar, M/M, Unrequited Love, orphaned Gavin Reed, stylized gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2020-10-24 11:09:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20704997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardFortuna/pseuds/AwkwardFortuna
Summary: Alyssa Reed had foolishly fallen in love with a man who wore a wedding band on his finger.Years later, Gavin Reed would find himself just as unlucky in love as his own mother was.Or, Hanahaki is a wasting disease that kills people as slowly or as quickly as it pleases.





	1. Alyssa Reed

Alyssa Reed was nineteen years old when she delivered a healthy and beautiful baby boy. Despite all of the malicious and disapproving comments she had been given, as well as the abandonment from her parents, she had decided to keep her baby and bring him to full term.

After all, that is what you do when you are in love, isn’t it?  
Give birth to a child that is equal parts you and your lover?

People called her crazy and foolish but she didn't care. Love was something Alyssa didn't have enough of growing up so naturally when it crossed her path, she clung to it as tightly as she could.

How could she have known that the love Harold Kamski held for her would last for only a summer? How could she have known that a man in a self-proclaimed _'dead marriage'_ would go to such great lengths to run and hide from his responsibilities? __

With her letters unopened and phone calls ignored, something inside her gave way to a sadness she never knew existed.

Hanahaki is a wasting disease that kills people as slowly or as quickly as it pleases and on October 7th, 2002, she gave birth to a healthy and beautiful bouncing baby boy, before rupturing into a cascade of bloodied hyacinth flowers and afterbirth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I am in love with him  
To whom a hyacinth is dearer  
Than I shall ever be dear.
> 
> On nights when the field-mice  
Are abroad, he cannot sleep  
He hears their narrow teeth  
At the bulbs of his hyacinths.
> 
> But the gnawing at my heart...  
He does not hear."
> 
> -Edna St. Vincent Millay


	2. The Orphanage

**18 years later**.

The boys that Gavin Kamski shares a room with at St. Mary’s Home for Unwanted Children are snoring softly, unaware of the inner turmoil that has begun to set inside of him with each passing hour. He rolls onto his back, ignoring the sharp pinch of the bedsprings as he gazes at the electric clock on the wall where 11:30 pm can be seen in bright, blue, flashing numbers.

Something like a rock begins to form in his gut, causing him to twist and turn despite the bed springs and the squeaky noises that they make.

In no less than a half-hour it will be October 7th and for most kids out there, the date is unremarkable. But for Gavin, the countdown to the end of everything he’s ever known has begun. In less than an hour, it will be October 7th and Gavin Kamski will age out of the system at the ripe old age of eighteen.

_Fuck_, he just wants to close his eyes and not think about it anymore. Pretend like tomorrow is just another day like any other. He doesn’t want to think about what he’s going to take with him when he leaves and what he’s going to leave behind. __

Doesn’t want to think about where he’s gonna go or what he’s gonna do. The counselors at his school had been hounding him for months now to make an appointment with them about his future plans and his ‘college career,’ and stupidly, he had evaded them all. Kept out of sight for the remainder of his senior year, fucked off and smoked out behind the school...Damn, would anyone even miss him? Any teachers? Classmates? 

He doubted the nuns at the orphanage would, he was a right terror to them anyways, always skipping bible classes and vandalizing church pews. _Fuck,_ they probably already had a new boy assigned to his bed already. Waiting for him to get up and go by the morning. __

_ _The pulsing blue light of the clock flashes 12:00 am and with a sigh, he sat up. Resigned to the fact that there was no way in hell he’d be able to get any sleep tonight. Not with his anxiety flaring up and those voices of doubt creeping in. __

_ _As he gazes from left to right at the sea of beds filled with sleeping orphaned boys like him, he decides he wants to leave this place with something to remember him by. After all, there is no proof that he ever made a mark here. No proof that a boy named Gavin Kamski grew here. _ _

__He reaches over and grabs the bible off his bedside table, flipping through the pages until he finds _Ezekiel 23:20_, where his pocket knife is stashed. He flips it open and begins carving his initials into the bedpost. With each chip of wood that falls away, so does the tension in his shoulders and soon, before even realizing it, his eyes grow heavy and he is welcomed back to sleep.__

**6:30 am**

He wakes with a start as the bedroom door is slammed shut, signaling the last of the boys leaving to reach the busses in time. With a groan, Gavin digs his face deeper into his pillow. Both thankful that he no longer has to get up for school in the mornings, and apprehensive about what that means for him. He falls back to sleep. Wakes up, and then does it all over again.

At 9:00 am he starts to become offended. Did no one remember his birthday? Where are the sisters in their black habits, coming to scream at him to wake up and pack his things? _Well screw them, then. _

_ _He rolls onto his side and goes back to sleep, daring anyone to come in and wake him up. _ _

_ _ By the time the bedroom door creaks open, it is not what he is expecting. _ _

_ _There are no sisters standing there, readying themselves to get him up and out. There is no pastor in a white-collar with a stern and disapproving look on his face. __

_ _Instead, the figure that darkens his doorway is a hipster-looking fuckface with a neckbeard and glasses. Gavin shakes his head with the absurdity of it. "Who the fuck are you?" _ _

__The man grins at him, and with a slight chuckle says "My name is Elijah Kamski."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ezekiel 23:20: There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys...


	3. Little Orphan Annie Dreams

To say that Gavin Reed had never imagined what it would be like to live with his father and to have a family, would be false.  
In reality, his pre-teen years were spent obsessing over his father and the life that he could have with him. 

While yearning for a figure that was not there, he filled in the blanks with whatever his child mind had to offer;

_ Strong, tall, an astronaut, a fireman_, Gavin even imagined at one point that his father was a superhero, out fighting crime and keeping the public safe and at peace. He must’ve had a secret identity to uphold, which was why he never came for Gavin. _He had to keep his son’s identity safe, after all._

Except, that’s not true, is it?

Superheroes don’t exist, deadbeat dads do, and that hard truth came crashing down on Gavin when he was just thirteen, the day his father came to visit.  
The man wasn't significantly tall or strong looking like he had imagined he would be, and where Gavin's hair was brown the man's hair had been black and where Gavin had green eyes his father had blue. 

He had introduced himself to Gavin as _Harold_ (a decidedly un-superhero-like name) and said that he was there to get to know Gavin and to spend the day with him.  
  
It was odd and unexpected. It brought up feelings of abandonment and hurt that Gavin didn’t even know he had, and after a somewhat teary and heartfelt conversation between the two of them, regarding Gavin’s mother, how she died and the mistakes Harold had made with her, Gavin had _refused_ to go anywhere with his father.  


His caretakers at the orphanage had tried to persuade him to at least go to dinner with him, just for an hour, yet Gavin vehemently refused, surprising even himself with the decision.  
After a tense hour had passed, filled with a red-faced Gavin crying and shouting at his father and his caretakers apologizing on his behalf, Harold had left with a final passing comment of;  
“You have your mother’s eyes.”  


Gavin had nearly lunged at the man after that, held back by his caretakers so that Harold could retreat unhindered, like the coward he always would be.  
After that day, Gavin had given up on his _Little Orphan Annie dreams_ by pushing Harold and the ideas that he had of fatherhood and family to the farthest corners of his mind. He crumpled it up and locked it away so that he’d never have to dwell on Harold Kamski again.  
Until today that is, what with Elijah Kamski, his fuckin’ _half-brother_ standing before him.

“My name is Elijah Kamski.” 

“So?” 

"So I'm your brother." 

"So?" Gavin sneers, tempted to grab the bible nearest him and chuck it at _ Elijah's _ stupid fucking head. 

"So, I thought you would be pleased?" Elijah states with a frown. "I only just learned about your existence and thought..." 

"Thought I'd be jumping with joy over you? Well, you're about eighteen years too late." 

Elijah's frown deepens, causing his glasses to slip an inch down his face. "I understand that our father did wrong by you-" 

"He's _your_ father! Not mine." Gavin states. 

"By abandoning you, but I-" Elijah continues before Gavin interrupts him again, 

"What, did he send you here to come and get me or something? Still too afraid to face his own mistakes!?" Gavin shouts, before throwing the covers off his bed and walking across the room to stand face-to-face with Elijah. 

"He died, actually," Elijah says, solemnly. "Just six months ago. It was while I was reading his last will and testament that I learned about you. I wanted to rectify his mistakes, get to know the baby brother I never knew I had."

Elijah gives Gavin a sad smile then, and with a shrug says "I don't expect you to forgive him, or feel anything for him for that matter. But there's a clean slate between the both of us and all I'm asking of you is for a chance to make something of it."

There is a cold familiarity in Elijah's features, the blue eyes, dark hair, and pointed jaw are unkind reminders of the Harold Kamski of Gavin's memories. But where Harold was seeking closure in Gavin, Elijah was only seeking a bond. There is a sincerity in his words and potential for a family that Gavin believed was closed off to him years ago. All he has to do is say _yes._

"Okay." Gavin murmurs, "but just so we're clear, we are _ half brothers _ okay?" The smile Elijah gives him is blindingly perfect, "of course."


	4. Cyberlife

They’re having breakfast in a high-rise building in the middle of Riverside, Detroit, on a triple-digit floor level that makes the city below look like a miniature-scale model. It is ridiculous. In fact, everything about Elijah seems to be ridiculous. From his clothing choices _(baggy sweaters with way too many zippers on them,_) to his extravagant expenditures. Gavin has no idea what the point of eating at a place that charges ten dollars for a slice of toast is, but he knows that Elijah is gonna foot the bill regardless.

Which begs the question, “What is it you do exactly?” 

“Ever hear about Cyberlife?” 

“Yeah,” Gavin pauses, thinking back to the last time he heard the name Cyberlife, on t.v or some passing billboards. 

“They’re uh...a tech company right? Making robots and shit?” 

_“And shit_.” Elijah laughs, “You’re correct in the loosest of terms. Cyberlife’s main goal is to manufacture the technology that makes artificial intelligence possible.” 

“So, robots?” 

“No. _Androids_.” 

“Like RoboCop?” 

“RoboCop is a cyborg,” Elijah sighs before taking a sip of his mimosa. “There is a vast difference between the two.” He gestures to the drink in his hand before asking Gavin if he would like one as well. 

“I’m not old enough to drink yet.” 

“Neither am I,” Elijah hums, before setting his drink down and leaning towards Gavin. 

“Artificial intelligence is something that most would consider impossible. It is the concept of self-thought, self-regulation. The ability to adapt and learn from one’s own environment and utilize what was learned at a later date.” 

Elijah pauses as their waiter comes by to refill Gavin’s drink of _peach flavored Sprite_, before continuing, 

“Think of a supercomputer, capable of searching for things and acting out tasks on its own. Now, think of that very supercomputer but in an android. An artificial body created to mimic human life. Not _robots_, Gavin. And certainly not _cyborgs_ either. Artificial intelligence, true artificial intelligence, is autonomous in nature and capable of existing and learning without the need of pre-programs or a handler.” 

Elijah pauses and scans the room before leaning in closer and whispering, “Cyberlife is on the brink of developing that very idea” 

“So you’re what? An engineer? You develop the androids?” Gavin asks, his interest piqued. 

“Yes and no,” Elijah says with a grin. “I’m the CEO. I founded Cyberlife when I was sixteen, right after I finished college.” 

Gavin’s jaw drops. “When I was sixteen I was expelled for egging my P.E teacher’s car!” 

Elijah throws his head back and laughs. “Amazing how different our lives were and yet here we are! Brothers finally united.” 

Elijah lifts his drink in the air and gestures at Gavin to do the same. 

“A toast to our brotherhood. May the fruits of our reunion bring good fortune to both of us.” Gavin clinks his drink against Elijahs’ and resists the urge to pinch himself. 

Even if this is all just a dream, it is one he doesn’t want to wake up from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe canonically Elijah and Gavin are the same age, however, Elijah is three months older which I think makes their relationship a bit more interesting as they are both immature but in different ways which will become more obvious later on in this half of the story.
> 
> Side note: Sorry if this chapter seems rushed! I'm kind of struggling with pacing in terms of this portion of the story. I originally wanted the Gavin, Kamski, and Chloe chapters to be done within two chapters but that ain't gonna happen lol.


	5. Bluebeard's Wife

Elijah Kamski’s house is not a house. It’s a goddamn _ estate. _ Bigger than the entirety of Gavin’s orphanage, and the bathrooms alone, _ which yes, there is a plural of, _are even bigger than the bedroom Gavin used to share with thirteen other boys. It’s all so damn extravagant and it matches Elijah in each and every ridiculous and unnecessary way.

“You are permitted full access of all upper layers of the estate,” Elijah says nonchalant while showing Gavin around the premises. 

“The lower basement levels are for my use only. You need to have an access code to enter, which I won't be giving you any time soon.” 

Frowning, Gavin stares at the basement door just at the end of the living-room hallway. It looks as if it was made with fortified steel and has a numbered keypad attached to the handle.

“Why not?”

  
“Because, it’s my laboratory. I sometimes bring work home with me and that often requires me to use dangerous chemicals and machines.”  
  
Noticing Gavin’s frown, Elijah pats him on the back. “Don’t worry about that though, there’s nothing particularly interesting in there, just a bunch of machines...Do you want me to show you?”  
  
Gavin looks at Elijah in surprise, “Sure! If you don’t mind me seeing it?”

“Course not, the locks are just there to give me peace of mind that you’ll be safe whenever I’m not here,” Elijah says, momentarily standing with his back to Gavin so that he can punch in the key-code without Gavin seeing.

The door opens with a mechanical _ click _, leading out to a stairwell.

Peering in, Gavin sees nothing but stairs leading down into darkness.

“After you,” Gavin says. 

Elijah smirks and steps down into the basement. Lights flicker on with each step until he reaches the bottom of the stairwell, fully illuminated. 

“You coming down or not?” Elijah calls up to him.

Following after him, Gavin finds himself temporarily blinded by just how painstakingly _ bright _ everything is. The laboratory is white from floor to ceiling and It looks a lot like Gavin’s high school chemistry class but more _ advanced. _ As if his school had actually been granted f _ unding. _Gavin can just make out a few computers here and there which are sitting on mechanical looking desks, that seem to be illuminated from the inside out. There is a row of rigging systems lining the back walls, with dangerous-looking hooks and wires. There are storage boxes and lockers, and something that Gavin thinks might be a decontamination chamber. 

“So, what do you think?” Elijah asks, spinning on his heel and motioning to the entirety of his lab.

“Reminds me of a sci-fi flick,” Gavin says, inspecting a row of computer-like machines.

“It kind of _ is _ like a sci-fi flick. A lot of this stuff is off-market. A lot of it I’ve even made myself, it’s all so advanced that I doubt some of the world’s brightest minds would even be able to understand it all...which reminds me!” Elijah turns away from Gavin and heads to a locker, opening it up, he pulls out an envelope and hands it to Gavin.

“If you wouldn’t mind signing this?”  
  
“What is it?” Gavin asks, inspecting the envelope. The inside of which is peppered with words like ‘Non-disclosure’.

“Just a simple precautional formality. It’s basically a document saying that you agree not to share with the public or any of my competitors, any information that you learn or gain from me here. It’s basically a Cyberlife insurance policy.” Elijah says with a smile.

“So I’m not like, signing my life away to you or something?”

“No,” Elijah laughs. “Though I can have a lawyer help you with it if you want?”

“No that’s okay,” Gavin says flipping through and inspecting the pages.

“Or do you not want to sign it?” Elijah asks, the smile falling from his face. “I was hoping this wouldn’t be a problem, you being my brother and all.”  
  
“It’s not a problem!” Gavin says quickly. 

Sighing Elijah says “you would be amazed at how many people want to see Cyberlife crash and burn, Gavin. How many people want to see _me _crash and burn. I had hoped that you of all people would understand that.”  
  
“I do! It’s just...a lot to take in is all...I mean if you had told me that one day I’d have a big-shot CEO for a brother, I would’ve laughed in your face.” Gavin says. “And now here I am with _ you, _ in a fuckin’ _ mansion. _ ”  
  
Looking down at the papers in his hands, Gavin says softly “But I don’t want to do anything that would mess that up...do you have a pen?”

Elijah pulls one out of the many pockets on his jacket and hands him one.

“Thank you, little brother. It means a lot”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally figure out how to change the formatting for my chapters on here thank goodness ^_^"


	6. Living with Elijah takes getting used to

Before, at the orphanage, it seemed like Gavin could never get a moment to himself. He was constantly bombarded by the ins-and-outs of the other foster boys, constantly getting hustled into participating in Sunday services and constantly overwhelmed by teachers and guidance counselors nagging him about his future. Now though, Gavin can't help but feel a little bit lonely. He never thought he'd find himself _ wanting _ for company, always found himself craving to be left alone. But now, Gavin can go days on end without seeing or even _ speaking _ to Elijah. He’s almost always away at _ Cyberlife, _ working to build whatever future it is that he envisions. On the rare occasion, Elijah _ is _home, he spends most of his time locked in his lab, favoring elements and chemicals over the company of his own brother.

It stings a bit, but Gavin tries hard not to dwell on it. His brother’s an important man so naturally, he’d be a busy one too. He’s just thankful that tonight happens to be one of the rare occasions where Elijah’s home and _ not _in his lab. 

Currently, they’re both seated at a solid oak dining table with Gavin at one end and Elijah at the other. Elijah’s got a trio of datapads laid out in front of him and all that Gavin can see of them is a series of numbers. Rows and rows of them. Elijah’s reading the equations like a damn magazine, scrolling through them at lightning speed. It might as well be written in Latin, for all that Gavin can understand of it.

“So...how’s work?”

It takes a moment for Elijah to respond and when he finally does, his eyes are still on the datapads.

“Good. Great. I just have a few more logistics that need working on.” Elijah looks up suddenly as if barely realizing that Gavin is there.

“What about you? Are you settling in okay? Do you like your room?”

“Yes! Thank you, it’s nice. Really nice...” 

The conversation drifts off into an awkward silence. Elijah clears his throat and returns to his datapads.

“...Gets lonely though.” Gavin mutters quietly.

Elijah’s head snaps up, “Lonely?”  
  
“Yeah I mean, this place is just _ so _ big, and like, don’t get me wrong I love it! I really appreciate it, it’s amazing. But like, there’s no one else here but us and I feel like even when you’re home we hardly see each other.”

“Not that that’s a bad thing!” Gavin continues, “You’re a busy guy and I totally get that! it’s just...aren’t you ever lonely? Even before? In this house all by yourself?”

“...I suppose so,” Elijah says with a shrug. 

“_ ‘You suppose so’ _?” Gavin scoffs.

“Well I’m always working, Gavin. And before that, I was practically in school year-round.”

“What about your mom and...dad?” Gavin asks.

“Dad wasn’t ever really here,” Elijah says curtly. “And mom, well...she wasn’t, she didn’t-“ Elijah lets his words die off with a sigh.

“Look, this is new for both of us so naturally it’s going to take some getting used to and I...I can admit that I’m not the best at communicating sometimes, and while I can’t promise to be _ here _ more often, I _ can _ try to be more...present.” Elijah states, frowning as if deep in thought.

They fall into a lapse of silence with Gavin internally reeling at how their conversation just went. He hadn’t thought it all through when he first mentioned the loneliness, and the small mention of Elijah’s upbringing and his own mother for that matter has Gavin craving even more answers than the ones he first started with.

“I have an idea!” Elijah exclaims, standing up from the table and stacking his datapads together.

“About what?” 

“About your loneliness.”  
  
“Jesus, Elijah. It’s not that big of a deal!” Gavin groans, but Elijah is already retreating from the dining hall, datapads in hand and muttering about someone named Amanda and logistics.

“Forget I even said anything,” Gavin grumbles to himself. 

Slumping over in his chair, Gavin releases a long and drawn out sigh, realizing that once again he is alone.

* * *

Three weeks later, it's as if nothing has changed at all. Elijah still comes home a few times a week and heads straight for his labs the second he gets home. He acknowledges Gavin more often at least, makes eye contact and small-talk with him whenever they pass each other in the hallways. But even that is orchestrated for the most part by Gavin, who tries to stick to sections of the estate that he's certain Elijah visits the most. 

Gavin's just about made his peace with it all when one day Elijah calls him to the living room nearest the dining room.

There is a nervous energy running through Elijah. He's tapping his toes to an imaginary beat and drumming his fingers against the armrest of his suede couch as if the nerves inside of him are trying to jump out his skin.

"Gavin! I'm glad you could make it!"

"To the living room?"

"Yes!" Elijah says, a grin on his face. He clasps his hands together and lets them rest on his lap, though his toes remain tapping away. "I have an announcement to make and thought it'd be best to do it face to face."

"You kicking me out?"  
  
"What? No! I just wanted you to know that I took our little chat to heart and after doing some research I have come to the conclusion that socialization is indeed important and necessary for proper human development."

"um, okay?"

"It must have been quite a shock for you, moving from an overcrowded place to one such as this."

Gavin sits in the loveseat across from Elijah and nods. "Yeah it was-"  
  
"I'm leaving, for a month," Elijah says, cutting Gavin off.

"W-what!?" Gavin sputters.  
  
Elijah stands suddenly and clasps his hands behind his back, he begins to pace the length of the couch. 

"It's for Cyberlife. I need to go to China and help build the company's relationship with foreign tech groups. I tried to get out of it, honestly, I did. But this is something the company has been planning for _months _now, since before I found out about you and well, I can't put it off any longer."

"So you're just going to China?" Gavin asks, incredulous

"Yes. That said, I have someone I want to introduce you to," Elijah says, stepping out suddenly from the living room and into the dining hall, leaving Gavin behind in a whirlwind of thoughts.

_What the fuck,_ Gavin thinks to himself.

When Elijah comes back, he does so with a girl who is perhaps the most beautiful woman that Gavin has ever seen before. Straight backed, petite, blonde and blue-eyed. Gavin finds himself at a loss for words.

"Chloe, this is Gavin. Gavin, this is Chloe."

For a moment nobody says anything, Elijah frowns and turns to _Chloe._

"Don't be shy, Chloe. Introduce yourself."  
  
The girl, _Chloe,_ steps forward and holds her hand out towards Gavin.

"Hello, I am Elijah's assistant. My duties range from appointment making to email correspondence and phone calls, as well as minor housework.”

“Um...Cool?” Gavin says stupidly. He stares incredulously at Chloe and the hand being offered to him.

"You're supposed to shake it," she says.

Gavin jerks his hand out and awkwardly shakes her hand, relishing at the cool touch of her skin.

“Gavin,” Elijah cuts in, “I was hoping that you wouldn't mind Chloe staying here with you while I'm away."

"She's not going with you?"  
  
"No. She will be acting in my stead while I am away. Holding down the fort for me and all that," Elijah says with a wave of his hand.

"What about Thanksgiving?"  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"Will you be back by then?"  
  
"Most likely not."  
  
"Well, what about Chloe? What if she wants to go home to her own family during the holiday?"  
  
"That's not something you need to worry about," Elijah says.

"So you're an orphan too, then?" Gavin asks Chloe.

She stares at him for a few moments, her head tilted slightly like a puppy that doesn't quite understand, before answering with,

"I have no mother or father. The holidays will not be an issue."

"Well, that's great then! Had I known I'd keep getting passed around, I would've stayed at the godddamn orphanage!" Gavin snaps, before shooting up from his seat and darting out of the room, leaving Chloe and Elijah in his wake.

"There is a 20% chance that that could have gone better," Chloe states.

"Thank you, Chloe," Elijah sighs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My update process slowed down a lot recently, due to school and workload as well as the holidays! But I foresee two or three more chapters on this portion of the story involving Gavin and Elijah. Once this half is finished the ‘plot’ will kick in a lot faster.


	7. Then There Were Two

On the week leading up to Elijah’s departure, Gavin mostly keeps to himself. He doesn’t try to run into Elijah anymore. Hell, he doesn’t even bother sharing meals with him anymore, and what’s the damn point of it all anyway? He’s just gonna leave Gavin behind no matter what he does so he might as well get used to being in the house all on his own. Well, not _ technically _ on his own. There is still the ‘Chloe matter’ that Gavin needs to deal with, but like all problems in life he chooses to ignore it...them...her... _ whatever. _ Chloe’s presence is nothing but a constant reminder to Gavin that once again he is getting pushed to the sidelines as if his presence here means nothing. As if his time spent with Elijah is simply a temporary thing.

But _ whatever. _ Gavin’s not a kid anymore. He doesn’t need to imagine that he means more to people than he actually does. Except, while Elijah is easy enough to avoid, Chloe is _ not _.

In fact, she just keeps making things worse for Gavin, what with her constant need to engage him whenever they cross paths in the manor; and they absolutely _ do _ cross paths. More so than when Gavin was actively _ trying _ to run into Elijah. It’s almost as if Chloe has some sort of _ Gavin Sonar _that lets her know exactly when he leaves his room or something. 

It’s ridiculous. Absolutely fuckin’ ridiculous. He’s never felt more hassled before, and he grew up in a house full of nuns for Christ’s sake! At least then he knew what to expect; a lecture, a punishment, a stern face of disapproval, etc. But with Chloe things are different. She’s constantly asking him _ questions _like are you hungry? Do you need any laundry done? Is the temperature to your liking? and Gavin’s personal favorite ‘Are you in need of social or emotional support?’ As if she fuckin’ cares about him. Which is bullshit. There’s no way that she does! They hardly know each other and he’s probably nothing but a paycheck to her.

She’s a goddamned freak show who might as well be a robot from the planet Mars for all Gavin cares. He tells her exactly that one day, expecting a fight to brew between them. But instead, she _ laughs _ as if she’s in on a joke he knows nothing about or something. It makes Gavin’s hackles raise and he does his best to avoid her after that. He’s so preoccupied with keeping a lookout for her that he forgets he’s supposed to be avoiding Elijah the very second he runs into him.

They both end up falling flat on their asses and the stack of files in Elijah’s hands end up fluttering to the ground around them.

“Shit! Sorry,” Gavin mumbles, scrambling to right himself. He’s attempting to collect all of Elijah’s lost pages before Elijah snatches them all away from him.

“These are _ very _ important documents.” Elijah snaps, cradling them to his chest. "I need everything to be perfect before I leave."

Gavin scoffs at him. From what he can see it’s all just a series of numbers with a few black and white diagrams of what looks to be a genderless body and mechanical arms.

“I said I was sorry,” Gavin shrugs.

“Yes. You did.” 

Elijah begins to collect more of the fallen pages, righting them so that they are all right side up and shuffling them all back into their correct sequences.

“Where’s Chloe?”  
  
“Hell if I know,” Gavin says lazily, practically rolling his eyes at him. 

“What do you mean? She’s supposed to be with you.”

“Are you serious? I'm eighteen, I'm not a child!”

“I didn’t say you were,” Elijah groans.

"Then why stiff me with a babysitter?"  
  
"She's not a babysitter! And hey! You said you were lonely so I thought I could introduce the two of you and-"

"I wanted to get to know _you_, not some overpaid secretary."  
  
"Oh."

They fall into an awkward silence with Gavin regretting his display of honesty almost immediately.

_Why do I have to be so fucking clingy all the time? _ Gavin groans internally.

"Well I...look, Gavin, I know that there are years we need to catch up on but right now is just a really hectic time. I'm practically on the brink of revolutionizing the entire _world _right now and I just..." Elijah sighs and thumbs at the bridge of his nose.

"When I get back things will be different okay?"

"...Kay." Gavin says half-heartedly.

"I promise," Elijah smiles, before giving Gavin one last shoulder pat and heading back to his lab at the end of the hallway, leaving both boys unaware of just how differently things truly will become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! 
> 
> Holidays are finally over and I finally have time to finish up and critique some chapters! While updating this series I may go back and change some things in previous chapters now that I understand AO3's formatting a bit better.


	8. Red Eye

It is the middle of the night when Elijah finally leaves. Sometime past midnight, right before the birds start chirping, just a few hours before the sun rises and way past Gavin’s bedtime. Elijah’s younger sibling sleeps like the dead, but from what Chloe has learned from him, something such as this _ (Elijah’s departure,) _would be worth waking him up over.

“Perhaps you should alert Gavin of your departure?” Chloe states, helping Elijah by carrying his bags out from the estate and setting them neatly beside his car.

The vehicle is completely automated, a private car that Elijah had first designed for his mother some odd years back, just before heading into Cyberlife full-time. Chloe's development occurred long after Mrs. Kamski had passed away and while she never met the woman, the vehicle did and it remembers her. Small details such as Mrs. Kamski's top five destinations, her favorite playlist, and the scent of her -cigarettes and roses- still manages to cling to the car's interior lining.

It is old technology, the car, and outdated in more ways than one, but Elijah refuses to sell or alter it in any way. _ Sentimental value, _ he calls it. 

“Why would I do that? He’s sleeping, plus I’m already running late as is,” Elijah sighs, thumbing away notification alerts on his cellphone.

He was supposed to be at the airport fifteen minutes ago and the texts he’s been receiving from Amanda have been coming in non-stop. He’s just about to turn his phone off and risk facing her wrath entirely when her face suddenly illuminates his screen.

“Ah shit,” Elijah hisses before snapping his fingers at Chloe and pointing towards the car.

“Be a rose and put the rest of my bags away, I gotta take this.”

Chloe does as she's told, neatly stacking them into place. The car thrums with warmth and vibrates beneath her palms. It offers to play Mrs. Kamski's favorite songs for her, which Chloe politely declines.

Over the phone, Chloe can hear Amanda's voice shouting at Elijah for his carelessness. Whether or not she is talking about his late arrival or the fact that he is leaving Chloe behind with Gavin _ (the latter of which is a topic that has sparked much debate between the two,) _has yet to be made clear. 

"I'm practically already there! I can see the airport now! The planes are beautiful and-No I'm not bringing RT600, you already know this I-" Elijah groans and pinches the bridge of his nose, face wrinkling with annoyance.

Amanda finds Elijah's antics to be unethical and foolish. She thinks that business should be kept outside of familial matters but where Amanda sees mistakes, Elijah sees potential.

"We already talked about this! It's a trial period! A fucking test, _ okay? _ !" Elijah snaps. "How else will we succeed if a Cyberlife Android can't pass a fucking Turing test- _ Yes_, I know it's unethical but sometimes you have to break a few eggs and- I'm tired of going over this with you! I'll see you at the airport!"

_ "I thought you said you were already at the airport-!?" _ Amanda's voice shouts through the phone.

Elijah quickly swipes to end the call before turning back to Chloe with a stern look on his face.

"RT600, what is your designation?"

"My designation is '_ Chloe.' _ You gave it to me on-"

Elijah cuts her off with a wave of his hand. "Just state your designation and your prime objective."

"My designation is _ Chloe. _ My prime objective is to pass the Turing test and befriend Gavin Kamski."

"Good, good." Elijah pats her on the shoulder before entering the automated car. "You have all of my faith, Chloe..."

The car sends a notification to her servers just as it leaves the driveway, alerting her of Elijah’s route and estimated time of arrival.

She is 87% sure that Elijah will make it to his flight on time and 99% sure that Amanda will have a lecture waiting for him.

..

..

..

_She is 65% sure that she will succeed in Elijah's plans for her._

* * *

> It has been 24 hours since Elijah Kamski's departure.

> It has been 48 hours since Elijah Kamski's departure.

* * *

It has been four days, three hours and twenty minutes since Elijah Kamski's departure, and Chloe has done all that she can possibly do.

She has cleaned the house from top to bottom. She has updated any and all software programs utilized throughout the house (including herself,) she has kept Elijah updated on Cyberlife stock and media mentions (though her updates go unanswered,) and she has even begun to de-weed and water the late Mrs. Kamski's rose garden which has been neglected but not forgotten.

Amongst all of this, she still manages to creates meals for Gavin (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks,) yet the plates she leaves outside his bedroom door go uneaten, and her calls and attempts at conversation go unanswered. She would worry about his health if not for the fact that Elijah's 'smart' fridge alerts her of every time he manages to sneak food from it. Which is almost always in the middle of the night during Chloe's recalibration and charging/maintenance procedures.

It is..._inefficient _in more ways than one, and now Chloe is only 60% sure that she will succeed in Elijah's plans for her.


	9. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin wallows in self pity. Elijah is Elijah, and Chloe does her best to make Thanksgiving happen. Also, there's a food fight.

Gavin tries not to feel too raw about the fact that Elijah left him without so much as a _goodbye text. _

Like yeah, they're family. But they're not _family_ family. They've only known each other for a little over a month now and Elijah is in no way obligated to tell Gavin all of the when's and why's of his trip. So he shouldn't be feeling like...whatever _this_ is.

Besides, he's got years and years of abandonment training to help him get through this, and it's not like Elijah's never coming back again. He _is._ This is his house, after all, Gavin is just living in it. Maybe that's the real reason why Elijah left Gavin with Chloe, to make sure he doesn't mess with anything or do something stupid, which he's _prone_ to do.

Or maybe Elijah just realized how much of a pathetic and needy shit he is. _God, _Gavin annoys even his own self.

And as for Chloe, well, she just makes things worse for him. She's nothing but a constant reminder of the fact that he isn't _good_ enough and he can't help it if he's rude.

Because so what if he's rude? At least it's honest, unlike _her. _She probably couldn't give two shits about him, and she wouldn't be pretending to if it weren't for the fact that he had to open up his big fat mouth and whine to Elijah about his _loneliness._

If he had just kept his mouth shut, she wouldn’t be here with him and Elijah wouldn’t know about the part of him that aches.

_The part of him that Gavin is beginning to suspect, will follow him for the rest of his life._

* * *

_"I've made you lunch, Gavin." Chloe sings, knocking on his bedroom door with a soft rat-tat-tat.  
_

_Like always, he ignores it and flips his television on instead._

_His stomach growls and he frowns at his body's betrayal._

_"Gavin!" Chloe continues calling. "I can hear your stomach growling from here!"_

_He turns the volume up instead, drowning her out and the sounds of his hunger along with it._

> * * *
> 
>   
Hours turn into days and days turn into weeks and sooner than later, Thanksgiving is upon them.
> 
> * * *

_Thanksgiving_ is a national holiday and an American tradition. According to Elijah, Thanksgiving is something that is _important_ to Gavin. So he arranges for a grocery delivery to be made, and while Chloe has no particular inclination towards the holiday, she does her best to fulfill its requirements.

A turkey, mashed potatoes, and an overall comfortable setting, Chloe quickly gets to work by unpacking the groceries, prepping the ingredients, decorating the kitchen and living room with kitsch paper cutouts, and place settings on the kitchen and dining room tables, Chloe prepares for the day one step at a time until eventually, many, many hours later, she is _done._

The result is quite picturesque, with the kitchen looking like an image from a Hallmark card. She sends an image of her accomplishments to Elijah, but her message goes unopened.

Not letting that deter her, she proceeds to Gavin's bedroom, and like always her calls go unanswered.

* * *

Hours roll by, and still no responses from Gavin _or _Elijah. Chloe bristles at the inefficiency. Hours of her labor will go to waste if the younger Kamski does not join her on Thanksgiving soon.

She re-heats the food instead, stirs macaroni and mashed potatoes to evenly distribute heat before ultimately deciding to periodically reheat everything quarterly, so as to best keep everything from falling below 140 degrees.

* * *

It is 9 o'clock and there is still no sign of Gavin. Chloe finds herself in a loop of turning food over, reheating, and waiting.

Everything about this is Inefficient and downright superfluous.

* * *

By the time Gavin comes to the kitchen, it is well past midnight.

‘Hey, what the-” Gavin stops in his tracks upon entering the kitchen, staring frozen at Chloe who stands near the ornate table _full_ of food. "Chloe?"  
  
"Gavin! So nice of you to join me. Today is Thanksgiving...well," she pointedly looks to the clock on the kitchen wall. "_Was_ Thanksgiving. But nevertheless, I have kept the food warm and it is ready for your consumption-"  
  
"No thanks, I'll just eat a pop-tart."  
  
"Excuse me?"

Gavin rolls his eyes. "A. Pop. Tart."

"That's not a sufficient meal."  
  
"It is for me," Gavin says with a shrug.

His stomach growls, and Chloe momentarily sees _red. _Without processing her movements first, without calculating a reaction, she reaches for a muffin and sends it flying towards Gavin.

The entire tray of mashed potatoes goes next, nearly knocking him over. Gavin scrambles to gain footing amidst the pile of starch and quickly clings to the counter for balance.

“What the fuck-”

“It is_ Thanksgiving!” _ Chloe shouts, grabbing a handful of dinner rolls and aiming them at Gavin. “ _ A traditional, American, holiday _!” each roll hits him with every emphasis she makes.

“Spent with friends, family. and-”

"We're not friends!" Gavin shouts, dodging the onslaught of dinner rolls.

He manages to grab one mid-air and chucks it right back at her, hitting her square across the chest. Chloe gasps and grabs a handful of macaroni and Gavin jumps behind the center island just in time to prevent the mac’ from raining down on him but that means that he is now stuck between the center island and the refrigerator. Chloe’s shouting something at him but he ignores it.

Green beans come raining down on him and suddenly he has an idea! The pantry is just to the right of him, a few steps away at most. If he acts now, he can army crawl to it, get inside and reach his own ammunition in order to fire back at her. 

Glee springs up inside of him and suddenly he feels like a boy again, back to the days when he was too young to understand that everyone being adopted except for him, meant that he was unwanted and damaged. Back to the days when _fun_ was something that you could make for yourself. 

“You know what else is an American tradition, Chloe?” Gavin calls out, dashing for the pantry and slipping inside of it.

Something heavy smacks against the door, which Gavin suspects is the thanksgiving turkey for _ Christ’s sake_. 

The pantry is full of cookies, snacks, condiments_ (which Gavin feels wickedly thrilled about,) _jars of apple sauce, crackers, frosting, and the pièce de résistance: _rows and rows of mother-fucking canisters of whipped cream. _Elijah might as well run his own grocery store with all this shit he has stocked.

Arming himself with whipped cream and cookies, Gavin whips the door open and shouts “_Food fight!” _

* * *

Spying Gavin’s artillery Chloe ducks behind the table, unfortunately not fast enough to evade the onslaught of whipped cream and Oreos that comes flying her way. She grabs a bowl of cranberry sauce from the table and flings it toward Gavin before using the now-emptied bowl as a shield. She deflects the coming Oreos with it, all the while dreading the moment Elijah finds out that she has ruined _everything, _that she has failed the Turing test, Cyberlife, Elijah, and Gavin too. 

> <Mission Success: _ 53%...52%....46%...30%> _

Her scores plummet as she reaches for the pumpkin pie, unable to stop herself from doing whatever _ this _ is. Gavin’s eyes widen and he quickly brings his hands up as the pie collides with his face.

> <Mission Success: _ 0%> _

Her prime objective and its success rate, deletes itself from her field of vision. It is no longer needed, it has grown obsolete, just as _ she _ is now obsolete.

Elijah will be disappointed in her. Amanda, even more so, the other Chloes, and all of the other models that Elijah has plans for will never see the light of day, all due to her failure.

She is just about to apologize to Gavin and contact Elijah when Gavin falls into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

“Oh, my fuckin’ God! That was awesome!” He coughs out, wiping pie away from his face and smirking. He licks pie from the tips of his fingers and smiles at Chloe.“Hey, you know this actually tastes pretty good!”

“You...you are not upset with me?”

“No. Well, I mean I was, but I haven’t laughed like that in years! In fact, this is the most fun I’ve had in decades!”

“Fun?” Chloe asks, incredulous. 

Thanksgiving dinner is ruined, the kitchen is in shambles. There is nothing _ fun _ about this situation and yet this is the first time that Chloe has seen Gavin _ smile _ and the first time that she has heard him _ laugh. _It is a nice smile and an even nicer laugh. She doubts that even Elijah has seen this side of Gavin before, and suddenly, she feels a smile burst across her own face.

“I suppose that this was _ ‘fun’ _ .” She agrees, grinning at Gavin and admiring how _ ridiculous _he looks covered in mashed potatoes, pie, and cranberry sauce. She doubts that she looks much better herself.

“Told yuh, food fights are an '_American tradition _’ after all.” 

“I’ve never heard of it before.”  
  
“Google it.” 

They lapse into silence and Chloe assumes that whatever _ this _was, is done and over with, but she is more than surprised when Gavin begins picking plates up off the floor and piling them into the kitchen sink.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping to clean up, figured you could use a hand or two...if you need help?”  
  
“I do not require help, no.” 

Gavin’s smile is suddenly gone from his face, replaced by his signature scowl.

“...But it would be greatly appreciated.”

Gavin gives her a look of surprise and nods. “Okay, um...I’ll get all the dishes together...”  
  
“I will get the floors.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They grin at each other for a moment, and Chloe’s mission parameters reinstate themselves.

> <Mission Success:...10%...15%...30%...45%..._ 60%...63%....> _

Her success rate gradually increases as the two of them get to work setting the kitchen back to its original state. 

They work together seamlessly, Chloe humors Gavin’s idle chatter until the two of them are conversing freely, uninhibited by Gavin’s previous aggressions and misgivings about her. It is almost as though a flip has been switched for the two of them, budding into something akin to that of the beginnings of friendship.

Gavin is in the middle of recounting a humorous story for Chloe, about some time ago when he was suspended for egging a teacher’s car when his cell phone rings.

Chloe doesn’t have to see the screen to know that it is Elijah, she recognizes the signal as it connects to Gavin’s phone.

“Hey, Elijah! Chloe and I were just-” 

The smile on Gavin’s face dissipates, his shoulders droop. Physical signs indicating disappointment and sadness. 

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine, do what you gotta do. Happy Thanksgiving or whatever,” Gavin grumbles, flipping his phone shut with a loud_ clack. _

“That was Elijah? What did he say?” Chloe asks, but Gavin ignores her, turning away instead and exiting the kitchen entirely.

She’s just about to go following after him when a message from Elijah flickers to life across her field of vision. 

_ <Talks with China are going well. Amanda has set up a series of sponsors, some of which are proposing possible junctures, and PR wants to conduct a series of interviews with me while on tour. Cyberlife knew this was a possibility, but we couldn’t anticipate just how well our company would be received here. With many companies lined up to talk with us, I’m afraid that Amanda and I have decided to extend this trip for an indefinite amount of time. _

_Keep your progress reports coming! I expect that you will succeed in winning our dear Gavin’s favor, you have all of my faith RT600. _

_ -Elijah Kamski> _

Chloe lets out a sigh and blinks Elijah's message away. Once again, she is back at square one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Often enough I write backward (endings first, then build the beginning and middle around that.) So I spent all my time writing the food fight scene which was really fun! I hope you guys like this update, it's a little different in tone but it significantly progressing the story.
> 
> I believe there will be two more chapters at most involving Chloe/Gavin which means that Gavin's stay with Elijah is coming to an end after that ends the last half of this story will begin (Gavin joining the police academy, meeting Tina, how he gets his scar and his relationship with Hank, etc.)


	10. The Zen Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe does some gardening.

Zen Garden:

"It's not that I don't trust in your capabilities Chloe, I do. After all, I helped design them."

They're standing in the middle of Mrs. Kamski's garden for a system update that Amanda deems as _long_ overdue. She's standing behind Chloe, watching her closely as she gently prunes and plucks at the rotted leaves marring the beautiful and picturesque garden.

While it may already be long into December, the garden of Chloe's internal figuration remains eternally in Spring. Here, the health of Mrs. Kamski's garden seldom needs tailoring, but Amanda likes to test her often, and so Chloe must find each and every weed and rotted stem as it appears in a quick and accurate fashion.

"It's just that I don't trust Elijah's ambition," Amanda sighs. "He has a dreamer's mind, and that's a dangerous thing when combined with an IQ like his."

Chloe nods in passive agreement, cutting a few stems of rotting roses and watching as they fall and crumble into lines of code before disappearing.

"Does he think I'm so blind? That I won't notice what he's trying to accomplish?" she scoffs. "And this entire _thing_ with his brother!" Amanda throws her hands in the air and shakes her head. "I advised him to keep business separate from family long before Gavin came around, and now look at this mess."

A few weeds sprout up suddenly, and Chloe is quick to pluck them all.

"I suppose I can't blame anyone but myself. I should've known this would be a problem from the moment Elijah first showed me this, this-" Amanda waves her hands around as though attempting to pluck the words from thin air.

"Garden?" Chloe supplies.

"Yes! This _garden._ What kind of person designs an interface to look exactly like their dead mother's garden? What kind of person designs an android to look _exactly_ like their dead mother?"

"A sentimental one?"

"Hmph, what would you know about sentiment?" Amanda scoffs, chuckling darkly before crossing her arms and leaning over Chloe's shoulder to better inspect the roses before them.

With a sigh, Amanda leans forward and points towards a freshly budded rose, nestled snuggly between two large ones. "You've_ missed_ one."

Chloe further inspects the rose and finds nothing about it to be lacking. It has a thick and healthy green stalk, lush dark green leaves, and a good amount of thorns adorning it. It's perfect in every way, Chloe can't find anything wrong with it, except for its difference in color.

Whereas all the other roses of the garden are glorious shades of reds and pinks, this particular rose of interest is _white._

"It's perfectly healthy, Amanda."

"It's an albino, a mutant. An error in it's most basic code structure."

"It is functionally the same to all the other roses."  
  
"It's a _mutation_," Amanda insists. "Get rid of it."  
  
Chloe nods before reaching toward it. She caresses the bundle gently, with the back of her palm. Even with its mutation, its coding is the same as every other flower in the garden. There is nothing wrong with it, but an order is an order and so she plucks it, watching as the petals wither and turn gray before bursting into code and falling to the ground.

"There, much better," Amanda says, giving Chloe a complimentary pat on her shoulder. "Be sure not to miss one again."

* * *

Kamski Manor:

"Chloe! Chlo, can I call you Chlo?" Gavin asks one morning, following her throughout the house as she completes her daily chores of vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning.

He's a lot more open now. No longer willing to hide behind masks of bravado and callousness. Chloe doesn't need to drag him out of his bedroom anymore, their relationship has since evolved from outright hatred to something that Chloe believes could be deemed by some, as a friendship. And from what she's learned from Gavin, there is no friendship without a bit of gentle teasing.

"Only if I can call you _Vinny_."

"Eugh! God no, that's like calling someone named Richard_ 'dick'_ or something. There should be a law against that."

"Against calling someone dick?"

"No, against calling me Vinny_," _Gavins scoffs, following Chloe into the side of the manor that is usually reserved for Elijah.

It's not often that Gavin tags along for her early morning routine, which is why she forgets for a moment that there are certain aspects of Elijah's homelife that he'd prefer to keep Gavin _unaware _of. Such as Mrs. Kamski's bedroom, locked away as a shrine in the far corner of Elijah's wing of the house. She's bypassing the door as she usually does in favor of Elijah's study when Gavin stops in front of it.

"What about this room?" he asks, jiggling the doorknob and finding it locked. "What's inside of it?"

"It's a personal room for Elijah."

"Like a sex dungeon?"

Chloe doesn't dignify that with a response, heading into Elijah's study with a sigh of exasperation, a very human-like gesture that Gavin is often fond of doing.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me," Gavin says, following her into the study and tracing Elijah's expansive bookshelf with the back of his hand. "But just know, that I'm gonna assume it's a sex dungeon. Or a meth lab. Or both"  
  
"Have fun jumping to your conclusions, Gavin."  
  
"Will do," Gavin snarks, poking and prodding through Elijah's belongings.

He finds nothing of interest, however, most of it being books and papers on tech that Gavin doesn't bother to try to understand. He finds a few articles here and there on Elijah and Cyberlife. He manages to find one picture of his brother in black and white, smiling next to a darker-skinned woman who stares proudly into the camera lens.

"Why doesn't Elijah have any pictures up?" he asks, placing the photo back into its spot on the bookshelf. "I always figured, people with families well, they're supposed to have a lot of pictures up, right?"

"He prefers artwork over images of himself," Chloe states while meddling with the study room's curtains.

"Yeah, but what about his family? His mom? Or our dad even...I haven't seen one picture of that old dickhead since I've been here."

Chloe shrugs her shoulders in favor of responding, something she's been doing a lot of lately. Before Gavin, she felt as though every verbal question required a verbal answer, yet now, she finds herself preferring the use of body language instead.

"Perhaps you should ask Elijah."

"Hmm," Gavin hums, leaning against Elijah's desk.

On the wall before him is an abstract painting of reds and blues by some guy named _Carl Manfred. _

"Did you know my-our dad?" Gavin asks her.

"Yes, briefly."

"What was he like?"  
  
"Like Elijah in a lot of ways, and some, like you."

"How so?"

"He hated me at first. He couldn't stand the sight of me, but towards the end, he came around."

"I didn't hate you..." Gavin mumbles. "I was just...being a-"

"A Richard?"

"Yeah, a Richard," Gavin laughs.

They fall into a lapse of silence. Chloe cleaning and humming what Gavin thinks is '_Amazing Grace,' _while Gavin sits on Elijah's desk, swinging his legs and thinking to himself about their father, his mother, and the mistakes made in-between.

_Would Harold have liked him? Would Elijah? If they all met each other earlier? if they stayed together as a family? If his mom never died? Or Elijahs?_

"What happened to Elijah's mom?"

She stops singing to herself, cleaning in silence for a few moments before answering. "It's not my place to say, you'll have to ask Elijah"

"Yeah, well, Elijah's not here. Hasn't been here for a while now...Could you maybe just...tell me what she was like?"

The view from the window she's cleaning looks off into the backyard, the wide expanse of it, the trees that line its border and the rose garden there.

"I never got the chance to meet her, she passed long before I came around but from what I've heard from Elijah, she was an incredible woman. Incredibly kind, loving, and beautiful."

It is mid-December, so more than half of the plants and flowers in the garden are frosted over and long since withered. Their skeletal remains still stand, shiny and glistening like diamonds in the early morning dew. Winter has never been Chloe's season, though she supposes there is beauty that can be found in it.

"She was incredibly smart too, just like Elijah...I wish that I had the chance to meet her."

"She sounds pretty amazing," Gavin states, feeling somewhat bitter and sad at the same time.

He doesn't understand it, not really. There is a part of him that turns ugly at the thought of Elijah having both a mother and father. Two loving and incredible parents always at your side, ready to raise you and love you no matter what you did. Elijah grew up in this house, wanting for nothing, while Gavin grew up imagining what his mother looked like and wondering if he looked anything close to her at all. He should be happy, that Elijah didn't grow up like him. Happy, that Harold Kamski managed to not screw up this time around.

But the ugly little part of him, deep down inside, feels slightly angered by it all.

Why did _his_ mom have to die of a broken heart? Why did _he _get abandoned? Those are the thought that plague his mind at night when sleep evades him.

"Hey," Chloe says softly, nudging his chin up so he can face her.

He hadn't noticed her move form the window at all, too caught up in his own musings.

"How about you and I go out Christmas tree shopping later? We can buy decorations and gifts. It'll be good for us, to get out of this stuffy house."

He smirks at her, tossing aside his pitying attitude as quickly as it came to him.

"You a regular Chris Kringle, Chloe?"  
  
She smiles at him, her teeth blindingly perfect. "I don't know, you'll have to come with me to see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a late update! 
> 
> Classes have been crazy, work has been crazy, the WORLD has been crazy but I hope everyone is doing fine and staying safe.


	11. Christmas time in the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas tree shopping and attempted kidnapping.

"Douglas Fir or traditional Pine?" Chloe asks, standing between two towering trees.

Gavin's never put much thought into Christmas trees before. At the orphanage, their trees were almost always collected from the reject piles of Christmas lots. Hunched over trees with bald spots and missing branches were the norm for Gavin. He never gave much thought as to what species or grade they were, at least not until now.

"How much is the big one?" he asks instead, rubbing his gloved hands together to keep the numbness from spreading. It's 35 degrees out, snows' starting to fall at a near-constant rate and while Gavin usually bitches about the high Detroit summer heats, he finds that the winters are just as deserving of his wrath.

"The Douglas Fir? It's eight hundred dollars."

"What the- Why!?"  
  
"An eight-foot tree like this is typically much higher in price, but given the proximity of Christmas, it's been significantly discounted."

"Significantly discounted," Gavin scoffs, glaring at the 8-foot beast. "How much is the other one, the pine or whatever?"

"Four hundred dollars."  
  
"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Gavin snaps. No wonder the orphanage bought from the reject bin.

“Money is no issue for Elijah, Gavin.”

”It is for_ me._ I can’t keep freeloading off of him forever” he sighs, continuing down the aisle of trees until he reaches a grouping significantly smaller in size. "I need...I need a job or something."

"What kind of job?"  
  
"I don't know," he says with a shrug. "One that pays enough for me to buy an eight hundred dollar tree, I guess."

He doubts that he will ever be able to achieve as much as Elijah has. The thought stings, but at least he can try. 

  
"Maybe...maybe I'll get a job, go to college. Do something productive. I dunno' what do you think?"  
  
"I think that you can do anything if you set your mind to it."  
  
"Thanks for the Hallmark card," he scoffs, making his way through the crowded tree lot with Chloe following close behind.

She's dressed in a red, furred overcoat today, something to help keep the cold out while still keeping in line with the 'Christmas spirit.' Gavin's never seen her in anything but blue before but she looks great in it regardless. Hell, she could wear a plastic bag and still look great. Chloe catches him staring and he quickly looks away from her, the cold December air helps to cool the blush forming on his cheeks and for that, he is thankful.

"What about this tree? It's not too small and it's..." he inspects the price tag and quickly drops it. "Okay, not that one either."

Gavin groans, turning away from the trees completely. "Why don't _you_ just pick the tree, Chloe?"

"Me?"

"Why not? You're the one with all the _''species of Christmas tree''_ knowledge. It might as well be you." Gavin shrugs. "Which tree was your favorite so far?"

As the RT600, she has no favorites. She has no wants or aspirations, she has no vanity. But right now, she is not RT600, she is _Chloe_ or _Chlo' _as Gavin likes to call her, and according to Gavin, Chloe has preferences. Chloe has wants and thoughts that are deemed worthy enough to be taken into consideration. There is a glitch in Chloe's software's but it's gone in the blink of an eye, erased from her code structures just as quickly as an albino rose is pruned from its garden.

The words come tumbling out of her mouth before she can even stop herself. "The Douglas Fir," she says, "the Douglas Fir was my favorite."

Gavin lets out a low whistle. "The fancy expensive one?"

"Yes."

"Well...I mean, okay. If that's what you want then why not go big or go home, right?" He laughs.

They arrange for the tree to be delivered before parting ways in Detroit's Center Mall, to look for Christmas gifts for one another. Gavin thinks maybe Chloe will be the easiest to shop for, seeing as Elijah has everything he could possibly want, but when he starts actually _looking _at gifts for her, he realizes that he doesn't know all that much about her. Sure, they've lived together going on two months now, but he's never really asked her about her likes or dislikes. He's been such a self-absorbed ass about everything and now it's finally coming back to bite him. He's internally screaming over a display of '_For Her' _type giftsets in the middle of a department store when he spots her.

A little girl, no more than four or five, sobbing while being manhandled out of the store by a man Gavin seriously doubts is her father.

"Hey! You okay?" he calls out to the girl, but the man picks her up and begins running with her while Gavin chases after them.

He knocks over a few displays stands, pushing through throngs of people and cursing at the ones who don't get out of his way. He almost loses them in the crowd when suddenly he spots them, already halfway toward the exit.

"Someone call the cops!" Gavin shouts, picking up speed and jumping over a few forgotten shopping bags. He spies a security guard eating a slice of pizza and slaps him on the back mid-run. "That guys' kidnapping a little girl!"

The guard lets his food fall to the floor and breaks into a sprint, shouting at people to get out of his way and calling for backup on his walkie. The culprit turns and throws the girl then. Gavin catches her mid-air as the culprit flees before getting tackled to the ground by a group of security guards, struggling and cursing in their grasp.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Gavin says, trying to soothe the girl in his arms. "My names' Gavin, I'm gonna help you find your parents okay?" he says.

"What's your name?"  
  
"L-luh-Lucy," she cries.

"Lucy. It's nice to meet you, Lucy. Do you know where-"

"Oh my God! Lucy!" a woman screams, running over to them with her arms outstretched.

"Is that your mom?"  
  
"yes!"  
  


Gavin lets her go and she runs to her mother, quickly getting pulled into a tight hug. The security guard twists the man's arms behind his back and cuffs him. "The police are on their way, ma'am do you know this man?"  
  
"No, I've never seen him before," she says, her voice shaky and filled with fear. She shields her daughter from the man, side-stepping away from him.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for saving her, all of you."

"It's no problem, I just did what anyone else would've done," Gavin says, shuffling his feet shyly.

"But no one else _did_ do anything," one of the security guards pipes up. "You ever think about becoming a cop?"

"Not really."  
  
"Well, consider it. Not many people have it in them to step in and stop an injustice like that," he says, patting Gavin on the back.

"I'm Paul, by the way, if you ever decide to pursue a career in this, I'll write you a recommendation."  
  
"Thanks?"

"Gavin!" Chloe shouts running up to him. "Are you okay?"

"Is this your girlfriend?" Paul asks.

"What-No?!" Gavin splutters.

"You should be proud of your boyfriend!" Lucy's mother says, "He saved my daughter, he's a hero."  
  
"I-I'm not."  
  
A crowd of spectators begin to form, asking questions and offering Gavin their congratulations. By the time the police officers come and he's given all his statements, his face is as red as Chloe's coat and he's happy to head back home with her, Christmas shopping be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left for the Chloe/Gavin/Elijah portion! Thx to everyone still reading this and sticking through it!

**Author's Note:**

> "I am in love with him  
To whom a hyacinth is dearer  
Than I shall ever be dear.
> 
> On nights when the field-mice  
Are abroad, he cannot sleep  
He hears their narrow teeth  
At the bulbs of his hyacinths.
> 
> But the gnawing at my heart...  
He does not hear."
> 
> -Edna St. Vincent Millay


End file.
